Short Stories

His fingers caressed the silver pendant, slipping the dust free and letting it gleam in the dim light. He hadn’t stepped into the room in over 2 years yet the ache that stole his breath returned, just as it always had. “Move on” they’d urged him. “Find a new life.” And he had. But here he stood and there it lay, and never had he wished for more. He felt a hand on his shoulder: a kiss at his ear. “I can’t help it,” he whispered, as he turned to leave. His wife smiled gently. “I know.”

(c) Tim Austin 2016

With thanks to Maria C from rclexa.co.uk for the word suggestion! A quite extraordinary word! I loved it! If you’ve got a word you’d like me to write a story on, tweet it to me at @timaustin2k using the hashtag #onewordonestory or pop it in the comments.

Don’t forget to share the blog with your friends and hit that follow button for tomorrow’s story: Burden.

The rain melted with Helen’s tears as she looked up into a yawning maw of scorched grey clouds, wheeling and turning in a tempest far above. Were she able, she would have joined the thronging mass of blackening mists and lost herself to their fury. The green of the grass stretched bright as a challenge to the clouds above and she lay back, torn between worlds. She waited, water soaking through clothes and shivering her pin-pricked flesh. And there it was: the sunlight against the clouds – freedom in a prism of colour, her troubles tumbling free in laughter.

(c) Tim Austin 2016

Thanks to the tenacious Emma Rucastle for suggesting the word “Rainbow”. Emma is a theatre producer and director based up in the North West of England – you can reach her at @elaru on Twitter and at http://www.elartproductions.co.uk/

Got a word? Get in touch! Pop it in the comments or tweet it to me @timaustin2k using the hashtag #onewordonestory. Follow, share and get involved! I can’t do this without you!

Don’t stop – no time. Keep hunting, keep going, keep working. No time. Don’t pause: they’re counting on me. What if I stop? No! Never stop. Stop and you die. Stop and you fall to the dark place below: to the mound of rotting corpses forgotten, spent; fodder for the roots of the trees on which we feast. No: keep going, stay useful, stay relevant. Never stop. Straighten my tie, switch on the screen, drink the coffee and rock no boats. Protect the hive, protect the Queen: a good little worker, always.

(c) Tim Austin 2016

What a word to be handed! Thanks to the charming force of nature that is Aliki Chapple – Actor, Luddite, proud Grecian and Activist. You can find her on stage with The Rose Company or on Twitter at @amaenad

Got a word you’d like me to write about? Tell me in the comments section or tweet me at @timaustin2k using the hashtag #onewordonestory

I saw such worlds that day. Skies of burnt orange and mountains of glass: rings of glittering crystal stretching from horizon to horizon. Seas made of joy lapped at sands of pain and loss: footprints of creatures unknown to me slowly sinking to nothing. All of this captured in the dark of my master’s room, shining from the sphere I held in my palm.

Tarmac flew beneath Stephen’s feet, the last mile inching to a stuttering, shuffling end. He was in hell. The heat was scorching against his face and his fuzzy owl costume sloshed with sweat. A ball of pain welled and burned in his chest, his limbs leaden and gummed in treacly fatigue. But now the finish line was in sight, the roar from the crowd dull and distant in his ears. There she was: her watery gaze peeking over the top of her cannula, her banner waving over her wheelchair. Stephen the Owl: Marathon runner, couch potato. Hero.

(c) Tim Austin 2016

Today’s word, “Ache”, was suggested by the beautiful Lori Bannerman – Performance Poet, Storyteller and Liver of “The Dream”. You can find out more about her at http://bardicatheatre.com/

I’m always searching out new words to write about: if you have one, put it in the comments or tweet it using the hashtag #onewordonestory. See you tomorrow for “Orb“.